Touchscreen with a light modulator

ABSTRACT

A device with a touchscreen with a light modulator is disclosed herein. The device transitions from a netbook mode to a touchscreen mode. The device comprises a main unit and a touchscreen unit with a transparent display. The touchscreen unit is preferably separated from the main unit when in a netbook mode, and the touchscreen unit communicates wirelessly with the main unit. The touchscreen unit preferably has an outer screen display surface and an inner screen display surface on each side of a light modulating unit. The main unit preferably has a main unit display.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of 13/609,889, filed Sep. 11, 2012and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,736,569 on May 27, 2014, which is acontinuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/983,212,filed Dec. 31, 2010 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,411,069 on Apr. 2,2013, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/854,174, filed on Aug. 11, 2010 and issued as U.S. Pat. No.7,876,288 on Jan. 25, 2011, and claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/331,395, filed on May 5, 2010, all of whichare hereby incorporated by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to touchscreens. Morespecifically, the present invention relates to a touchscreen with alight modulator.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally speaking, the tablet input paradigm attempts to mimic thedirect interaction of a human finger with a piece of paper: touching anddragging the screen causes the underlying image to move as if it were apiece of paper being touched and dragged. This, combined withgesture-based cues to zoom, advance, etc. creates a vocabulary for auser interface paradigm.

However, this vocabulary is at odds with the classic keyboard-and-mouseinterface paradigm. The most obvious issue is that on a tablet device,there is no keyboard. While it is trivial to add a real keyboard to atablet device, doing so destroys the illusion of using the device like abook. Thus, most tablet devices opt to emulate a virtual keyboard whentextual input is necessary. Doing so, however, requires the screenreal-estate to be split with the keyboard, greatly reducing the viewablearea of content.

A less obvious issue, but perhaps more severe, is that on a tabletdevice, there is no cursor; the user's finger alone is a pointingdevice. While this behavior is more intuitive in the context of the bookillusion, it is incompatible with user interface notions that takeadvantage of contextual mouse-cursor location, such as hover-menus andcontext-tips. This problem is particularly pronounced when using webcontent: for example, the popular on-line TV website Hulu uses ahover-context UI to present a menu of channel selections. While Apple ison a campaign to eliminate this UI paradigm from the Internet, as wellas Flash as a standard rich media format, it's questionable if they willbe successful in such an endeavor.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a solution to the problem of the priorart. The touchscreen with a light modulator of the present inventionresolves the input mode dichotomy by allowing a user to have both a truetablet device, free of any extra keyboard surface, and a keyboard/mouseinput device (referred to as a netbook device herein) withoutsacrificing any active screen real estate during netbook mode.

The core invention is a transparent touchscreen that embeds a film orcell whose transparency or emissivity can be modulated, typicallythrough an electrical signal. In one embodiment, the modulated patternmay be that of a keyboard layout. This touchscreen with modulatedtransparency or emissivity is then typically mounted on hinge, pivot, orslide such that during certain modes of modulation, the touchscreen withmodulated transparency is no longer directly over the active displayarea and is instead off to the side, allowing a user to interact withthe touchscreen area independently of the active display area.

During netbook mode, the device may use a variety of haptic or auditorycues to improve the illusion of using a traditional mechanical-switchbased keyboard. For example, when a keyboard press is detected, thedevice may activate a transducer that vibrates the touchscreen and alsoemit a sound, perhaps as a keyclick sound, to indicate a key press. Inaddition, the keyboard image inside the touchscreen may also modulateits state to indicate the key that is pressed.

One aspect of the present invention is a device comprising a touchscreenunit and a main unit. The touchscreen unit includes a housing, atouchscreen component, a first H polarizer layer, a light modulatorcomponent, a first V polarizer layer, a second touchscreen component,and a first wireless communication component. The housing has a firstmagnetic mating surface. The first touchscreen component is positionedon an exterior surface. The first touchscreen is composed of atransparent material and utilizes interactive touch technology. Thefirst H polarizer layer is adjacent the first touchscreen component. Thelight modulator component is adjacent the first H polarizer layer. Thelight modulator component is selected from an embedded film, a twistednematic liquid crystal cell, electrochromic glass, an interferometricmodulator, or an organic light emitting diode display. The first Vpolarizer layer is adjacent the light modulator component. The firstwireless communication component is selected from one of a BLUETOOTHwireless component, a radiofrequency component utilizing an 802.11communication format, or a 2.5 gigahertz radiofrequency component. Thelight modulator is in light communication with the first touchscreen andthe second touchscreen. The main unit is removably connected to thefirst unit. The main unit includes a housing, a protective layercomposed of a polycarbonate material, a second V polarizer layeradjacent the protective layer, a liquid crystal display adjacent the Vpolarizer layer, a second H polarizer layer adjacent the liquid crystaldisplay, a backlight and reflector layer adjacent the H polarizer, asecond wireless communication component, a microSD FLASH memory, a CPUunit and a Lithium ion battery. The housing has a second magnetic matingsurface composed of ferrous material for mating with the first magneticmating surface and providing power to the first unit. The secondwireless communication component is selected from one of a BLUETOOTHwireless component, a radiofrequency component utilizing an 802.11communication format, or a 2.5 gigahertz radiofrequency component, thesecond wireless communication component communicating with the firstwireless component. The device operates in a tablet mode when the firstunit is in a closed position with the main unit, and the device operatesin a netbook mode when the first unit is in an open position with themain unit. The device has auditory interactive feedback and hapticinteractive feedback.

Another aspect of the present invention is a “conversion-tablet”, wherethe touchscreen, when folded over the display LCD, works as a standard,transparent tablet-like touchscreen. However, the touchscreen is on ahinge and can flip open. When opened, a secondary black and white LCDburied inside the touchscreen is activated. This causes a pattern ofkeys to “appear” on the transparent touchscreen. The other side of thetouchscreen then serves as the active surface, thus allowing you to usethe same piece as a keyboard, closer to a “netbook” form of operation.

Another aspect of the present invention is device comprising a firstunit and a main unit. The first unit includes a housing, a firsttouchscreen component, a first H polarizer layer, a light modulatorcomponent, a first V polarizer layer, a Hall effect sensor, and a firstwireless communication component. The housing is preferably composed ofa thixomolded magnesium material and has a first magnetic mating surfacecomposed of ferrous material. The first touchscreen component is on anexterior surface of the first unit. The first touchscreen component iscomposed of a transparent material. The first touchscreen componentutilizes resistive touch technology, capacitive touch technology,proximity touch technology, surface acoustic wave touch technology, orinfrared touch technology. The first H polarizer layer is adjacent thefirst touchscreen component. The light modulator component is adjacentthe first H polarizer layer. The light modulator component is selectedfrom an embedded film, a twisted nematic liquid crystal cell,electrochromic glass, an interferometric modulator, or an organic lightemitting diode display. The first V polarizer layer is adjacent thelight modulator component. The interior surface of the first unit has anoptional second touchscreen component. The first wireless communicationcomponent is selected from one of a BLUETOOTH wireless component, aradiofrequency component utilizing an 802.11 communication format, or a2.5 gigahertz radiofrequency component. The light modulator is in lightcommunication with the first touchscreen and the optional secondtouchscreen. The main unit is removably attached to the first unit. Themain unit comprises a housing, a protective layer composed of apolycarbonate material, a second V polarizer layer adjacent theprotective layer, a liquid crystal display adjacent the V polarizerlayer, a second H polarizer layer adjacent the liquid crystal display, abacklight and reflector layer adjacent the H polarizer, a microSD FLASHmemory, a CPU unit, a Lithium ion battery, and a second wirelesscomponent. The housing has a second magnetic mating surface composed offerrous material for mating with the first magnetic mating surface andproviding power to the first unit. The second wireless communicationcomponent is selected from one of a BLUETOOTH wireless component, aradiofrequency component utilizing an 802.11 communication format, or a2.5 gigahertz radiofrequency component. The second wirelesscommunication component communicates with the first wireless component.The device also has means for connecting the first unit to the main unitselected from slideable attachment, hinge attachment, or magneticattachment. The device operates in a tablet mode when the first unit isin a closed position with the main unit, and the device operates in anetbook mode when the first unit is in an open position with the mainunit. The device has auditory interactive feedback and hapticinteractive feedback such as when a keyboard pattern is depressed by auser, the device activates a transducer that vibrates the touchscreenand also emits a sound such as a keyclick sound, to indicate a keypress. In addition, the keyboard image inside the touchscreen may alsomodulate its state to indicate the key that is pressed by the user.

A preferred embodiment is a sandwich of an outer touchscreen, an LCDcell (sans reflector and backlight to allow it to be transparent whenoff), and an inner touchscreen. An alternative embodiment is to use theactual glass of the LCD cell itself as part of the touchscreen element.Further, the touch element is preferably an Infrared touchscreen.Alternatively, the touch element is a capacitive touchscreen. However,those skilled in the pertinent art will recognize that any touchtechnology for touchscreens may be used without departing from the scopeand spirit of the present invention.

A most preferred embodiment utilizes haptic and/or auditory feedback toimprove the feel of the keyboard during use. A vibration response totouching of the screen is one embodiment of haptic feedback to a user.Other touch sensations may be used with the present device. Oneembodiment of auditory feedback is a tone to indicate touching of thetouchscreen display surface. Further, the most preferred embodimentincorporates “bleed” (off-screen) elements of the touchscreen as mouseand live buttons.

Having briefly described the present invention, the above and furtherobjects, features and advantages thereof will be recognized by thoseskilled in the pertinent art from the following detailed description ofthe invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a touchscreen unit of a device of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is an isolated top view of a touchscreen unit of a device of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2A is an isolated bottom view of a touchscreen unit of a device ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2B is an isolated front view of a touchscreen unit of a device ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2C is an isolated side view of a touchscreen unit of a device ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is an isolated top view of a main unit of a device of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3A is an isolated front view of a main unit of a device of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3B is an isolated side view of a main unit of a device of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic of a light path of a preferred embodiment of adevice of the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a schematic of a light path of an alternative embodiment of adevice of the present invention.

FIG. 4B is a schematic of a light path of a preferred embodiment of adevice of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment of a deviceof the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a devicewith a touchscreen unit open from a main unit of a device.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of an alternative embodiment of a device witha touchscreen unit open from a main unit of a device.

FIG. 8 is an isolated top plan view of a keyboard pattern on a displayof a touchscreen unit of a device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a top perspective view of a device of the present inventionwherein a light modulator is matrix-addressed, allowing arbitrarygraphics to be drawn in which a user interface for a game is being shownin the lower panel.

FIG. 10 is an isolated top plan view of a keyboard pattern on a displayof a main unit of a device of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a top perspective view of a device of the present inventionin a netbook mode.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of components of a device of the presentinvention.

FIG. 13 is a top plan view of a comparison of a device of the presentinvention, a KINDLE™ device from Amazon, Inc., and an IPAD™ device fromApple, Inc.

FIG. 13A a side view of a comparison of a device of the presentinvention, a KINDLE™ device from Amazon, Inc., and an IPAD™ device fromApple, Inc.

FIG. 14 is a top perspective view of a user using a device of thepresent invention.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of components of a device of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An exploded view of a preferred embodiment of a touchscreen unit 27 of adevice 25 is shown in FIG. 1. The touchscreen unit 27 preferablycomprises a touchscreen surface 51, a first VHB adhesive 52 forattaching the touchscreen surface 51 to a main body 53, a sensor LED 54,a main PCBA 55, an elastomeric connector 56, a liquid crystal cell 57, aprotective surface element 58 adhered with a second VHB adhesive 59 to aprotective plate 60, wherein a plurality of screws 61 are threadedthrough a plurality of apertures to connect the components of thetouchscreen unit 27.

FIGS. 2, 2A, 2B and 2C illustrate various isolated views of thetouchscreen unit 27. The touchscreen unit 27 preferably has a thicknessT2, as shown in FIG. 2C that ranges from 4 millimeters (“mm”) to 10 mm,more preferably from 5 mm to 8 mm, and most preferably 6 mm. Thetouchscreen unit 27 preferably has a width W2 that ranges from 100 mm to200 mm, more preferably from 110 mm to 150 mm, and most preferably 120mm to 135 mm. The touchscreen unit 27 preferably has a length D2 thatranges from 180 mm to 300 mm, more preferably from 190 mm to 260 mm, andmost preferably from 210 mm to 230 mm. The touchscreen unit 27 has ahousing 29, an outer touchscreen display 30 and an inner touchscreendisplay 31. The housing 29 is preferably composed of a thixomoldedmagnesium material to provide lightweight strength and durability. Thetouchscreen unit 27 also preferably has a magnetic mating surface 50 afor engaging a main unit 26 of the device 25 and for charging a batteryof the touchscreen unit 27. A radiofrequency (“RF”) communicationcomponent, a battery, LCD driver and integrated circuit electronics forthe touchscreen unit 27 are preferably placed within the housing 29 at aregion 29 b, as shown in FIG. 2. An outer surface the touchscreen unit27 preferably has a polycarbonate or acrylic IR multi-touch surface thatextends beyond the outer touchscreen display 30, preferably for a mousefunction. The inner surface of the touchscreen unit 27 also preferablyhas a protective polycarbonate sheet.

FIGS. 3, 3A and 3B illustrate various isolated views of the main unit 26of the device 25. The main unit 26 preferably has a thickness T1, asshown in FIG. 3B that ranges from 8 mm to 25 mm, more preferably from 10mm to 20 mm, and most preferably 14 mm. As shown in FIG. 3, the mainunit 26 preferably has a width, W1, that ranges from 100 mm to 200 mm,more preferably from 110 mm to 150 mm, and most preferably 120 mm to 135mm. The main unit 26 preferably has a length, D1, that ranges from 180mm to 300 mm, more preferably from 190 mm to 260 mm, and most preferablyfrom 210 mm to 230 mm. The main unit 26 has a housing 28 and a LCDdisplay 40. The housing 28 is preferably composed of a thixomoldedmagnesium material to provide lightweight strength and durability. Thehousing 28 of the main unit 26 also preferably has a magnetic matingsurface 50 for engaging and for charging a battery of the touchscreenunit 27. As shown in FIG. 3B, a region 28 a is preferably composed of anABS plastic material to allow for transmissions from a RF antennalocation within the housing 28 in this region 28 a. As shown in FIG. 3A,a region 28 b is a magnesium casing region of the housing 28, a region28 c is a location of a battery, and a region 28 d is a region of theelectronics for the main unit 26.

An architecture of a preferred embodiment of the device 25′ is shown inFIG. 4 to demonstrate the light path. The touchscreen unit 27 preferablyincludes the outer touchscreen display 30, an H polarizer layer 35, thelight modulator unit 32, a V polarizer layer 36 and the innertouchscreen display 31. The main unit 26 preferably includes a backlightand reflector element 41, a second H polarizer layer 37, the LCD display40, a second V polarizer layer 38 and a protective layer 39. The alignedpolarization results in low-loss transmission through the lightmodulator unit 32. A vertically polarized (“V”) optical wave is one forwhich the electric field is restricted to lie along the z-axis for awave propagating along the x-axis, and a horizontally polarized (“H”)optical wave is one in which the electric field lies along the y-axis.Light is generated at the backlight and reflector element 41. The secondH polarizer layer 37 polarizes H light into the LCD display 40. Thesecond V polarizer 38 polarizes V light into the inner touchscreendisplay 31. The first H polarizer layer 35 polarizes H light only.

An architecture of an alternative embodiment of the device 25′ with asingle-sided touch screen is shown in FIG. 4A to demonstrate the lightpath. The touchscreen unit 27 preferably includes the outer touchscreendisplay 30, an H polarizer layer 35, the light modulator unit 32 and a Vpolarizer layer 36. A length L4 of the touchscreen unit 27 preferablyranges from 1-2 mm and a length L3 preferably ranges from 1.5-2 mm. Themain unit 26 preferably includes a backlight and reflector element 41, asecond H polarizer layer 37, the LCD display 40, a second V polarizerlayer 38 and a protective layer 39. A length L2 of the main unit 26preferably ranges from 1-2 mm, and a length L1 preferably ranges from3-10 mm. The aligned polarization results in low-loss transmission oflight through the light modulator unit 32. Preferably in this embodimentthe first V polarizer layer 38 is aligned with the second V polarizerlayer 36. Light is generated at the backlight and reflector element 41.The second H polarizer layer 37 polarizes H light into the LCD display40. The second V polarizer 38 polarizes V light into the innertouchscreen display 31. The first H polarizer layer 35 polarizes H lightonly.

An architecture of an alternative embodiment of the device 25′ is shownin FIG. 4B to demonstrate the light path. The touchscreen unit 27preferably includes the outer touchscreen display 30, an H polarizerlayer 35, the light modulator unit 32, a V polarizer layer 36 and theinner touchscreen display 31. The main unit 26 preferably includes abacklight and reflector element 41, a second H polarizer layer 37, theLCD display 40, a second V polarizer layer 38 and a protective layer 39.The aligned polarization results in low-loss transmission through thelight modulator unit 32. Light is generated at the backlight andreflector element 41. The second H polarizer layer 37 polarizes H lightinto the LCD display 40. The second V polarizer 38 polarizes V lightinto the inner touchscreen display 31. The first H polarizer layer 35polarizes H light only.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the liquid cell thatmodulates the light is a twisted nematic liquid crystal cell 57 thatlacks the traditional rear reflector or backlight array. Such a twistednematic liquid crystal cell 57 is normally transparent to onepolarization of light, and when an electrical signal is applied to itselectrodes, a dark pattern appears wherever the electrode are exposed tothe underlying liquid cell material. The liquid cell 57 preferably hasindividually addressed electrodes or a matrix-addressed system, andoptionally incorporates a TFT mechanism for the matrix addressing.Preferably, the liquid crystal cell 57 is aligned to the active contentdisplay to optimize light transmission. In the case that the activecontent display is itself a liquid-crystal display element, the liquidcrystal cell 57 has its input polarization aligned to the outputpolarization of the active content display.

Note that while this exemplary embodiment of the invention will refer toa liquid crystal light modulator, those skilled in the pertinent artwill recognize that any light modulator or emitter could be used,including but not limited to electrochromic glass (coated glass that canchange transparency in the presence of high voltage) or interferometricmodulators (films that can be adjusted to cause interference at certainwavelengths). Transparent, emissive elements may also be used in placeof the light modulator, in which case the element is a light emittingelement. An example of such an element would be a transparent OLEDdisplay. Such an element would have the advantage of being usable in thedark and on low-contrast surfaces, but has the disadvantage of beingexpensive and currently having relatively low transparency in the offstate. However, as such technology improves it is an excellent candidateto replace the liquid crystal cell cited as the common example in thispaper.

In one embodiment of the invention, the embedded liquid crystal cell 57is mated with one or more touch sensitive display surfaces 30 and 31.The touch sensitive display surfaces 30 and 31 use touch technology.Preferred touch technologies utilized include resistive, capacitive,SAW, IR, and proximity. All of the preferred touch technologies havetransparent touch sensitive display surfaces 30 and 31. The choice ofusing one or more touch surfaces depends upon the mechanical integrationwith the main unit 26 of the device 25.

As shown in FIG. 5, a device 25 in a “clamshell arrangement” has a hinge34 that connects the main unit 2 with the touchscreen unit 27. In theclamshell arrangement of the device 25, an inner and outer touchsensitive surface is required, and for touch technologies that requiredirect contact, two opposing touch surfaces are required. If a proximitysensitive touch technology is used, then it is possible to use only asingle touch sensitive surface in this configuration.

As shown in FIG. 6, the device 25 is “flipped” open with the transparentdisplay of the touchscreen unit 27 showing a keyboard on the outertouchscreen display 30. The main unit display 33 of the main unit 26 hasan image of a woman, which is viewable through the transparent displayof the touchscreen unit 27.

If a slide arrangement of the device 25 is used, then just a singletouch sensitive display surface 30 of the touchscreen unit 27 isrequired, as the mechanical integration can present the same surface tousers in both tablet and netbook modes.

As shown in FIG. 7, once the touchscreen unit 27 is slid down from themain unit 26, the touchscreen unit 27 engages a hinge that also enablesa rotation of the touchscreen unit 27 relative to the main unit 26, sothat the final configuration looks similar to the “clamshell”arrangement. The slide arrangement embodiment of the device 25 has amore complex mechanical implementation but requires only a single touchsensitive display surface 30 on the touchscreen unit 27.

In one embodiment of the invention, the embedded film or cell thatmodulates light contains a keyboard pattern on its electrodes. Thepattern's segments are individually addressable, such that an individualkey element is turned on or off to enable visual clues to the user as tothe key-press state.

As shown in FIG. 8, each segment or set of segments in the keyboardpattern shown in FIG. 8 are individually addressable such that anyelement or set of elements are independently turned on or off.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of the electronic components of the main unit26. The electronic components are preferably contained in an electronicscompartment 42. The electronic components preferably comprise a microSDFLASH memory 70, DDR3 DRAM memory 71, PMIC 72, a CPU 73 such as ahigh-speed ARM SoC processor, an audio coded 74, a multiple-axidaccelerometer 75, a GPS/compass 76, a camera 77, a WiFi and BLUETOOTHcommunications component 78, a thin-film transistor LCD 79, a battery 80such as a lithium polymer battery, a USB connector 81, a power connector82 and a HDMI connector 83. Those skilled in the pertinent art willrecognize that other electronic components may be included withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of components of the device 25 to illustrateand explain the interaction between the main unit 26 and the touchscreenunit 27. The main unit 26 has a radio interface component 78 a whichcommunicates with the radio interface component 95 of the touchscreenunit 27. The radio interface component 78 a preferably uses BLUETOOTH,802.11 communication protocol. Alternatively, the radio interfacecomponent 78 a uses a NORDIC nRF905 chip. The radio interface component95 of the touchscreen unit 27 is preferably an integrated chip with anembedded microprocessor. A power switch 91 adjusts the charging polarityof the ferrous plates 92 and 93. Charge is transferred between the mainunit 26 and the touchscreen unit 27 using a magnetic coupler, preferablytwo magnets mating to the ferrous plates 92 and 93. A Hall effect sensor96 is employed to detect the polarity of the magnetic coupling in casethe user places the main unit 26 and the touchscreen unit 27 in theincorrect orientation. The touchscreen unit 27 also comprises a batterycharger 94, a single cell lithium polymer battery 80, a TN LCD segmentdriver 96 (preferably a ROHM BU9799KV), a touchscreen controller 97(STM32 or ATMEL captouch), a transparent TN LCD element 30′ (preferablya keyboard segment pattern) and a second touchscreen element 30″.

The preferred operation modes of the device 25 include: a deactivatedmode having both the main unit 26 and the touchscreen unit 27 off andmated together; a tablet operating mode with the main unit 26 on thetouchscreen unit 27 off, which allows the touchscreen unit 27 to becharged when both are mated together; and a netbook operating mode withthe main unit 26 on and the touchscreen unit 27 on, with both unitsseparated both connected using a wireless link. A keyboard operatingmode is a specific netbook mode wherein the touchscreen unit 27 has akeyboard pattern shown and the touchscreen unit 27 is in wirelesscommunication with the main unit 26 or another RF enabled device.

In addition, the pattern in the embedded film contains other elements inaddition to the keyboard. For example, the embedded film incorporateshot-buttons and a digital clock face that can be activated in bothnetbook and tablet modes. The digital clock face can also be active whenthe device is off, thus providing a convenient time function duringstandby or off modes.

Alternatively, the pattern in the embedded film contains no fixedpattern at all and instead consists of an array of matrix-addressabledots, preferably actively addressed through thin-film transistor (“TFT”)elements, such that arbitrary and dynamic patterns are rendered in thebody of the liquid crystal cell. Such an embodiment is useful in games,for example, where a user interface (“UI”) unique to the game isrendered on the touchscreen display. Another option for implementing aUI is to provide the user with simply a printed sheet with the UI drawnon the printed sheet. The user then places the printed sheet behind thetouchscreen display. In this mode, the light modulator is off, and allUI cues are static, since the source of the UI image is a printed sheetbehind the touchscreen display.

In alternative embodiment of the device 25, the contrast bias of theembedded liquid crystal unit 32 is dynamically adjusted depending uponthe use mode (netbook or tablet mode) to optimize the viewing angle ofthe liquid crystal module versus the expected location of the user'seyes.

In an alternative embodiment of the device 25, as shown in FIGS. 9-11,the touchscreen unit 27 has a touch-sensitive area to serve the role ofa mouse 44, mouse buttons 43, control button 45, and other inputelements. The touch-sensitive area in some cases extends beyond theviewable area of the inner touchscreen display 31, such that the UIelements are preferably placed in an area outside of a transparent areaof the touchscreen unit 27.

In one embodiment of the invention, the touchscreen with light Modulatormay be paired with a light-colored insert that is designed into the caseof the device, such that the device may be more easily used when placedon a surface that offers low contrast to the pattern inside thetouchscreen. The insert is designed such that does not interfere withthe screen when in tablet mode.

In an alternative embodiment of the device 25, edge-lighting is used onthe light modulating unit 32. The edge-lighting is used to improve thecontrast of the device on all surfaces and enable the use of the devicein dark or poorly-lit conditions.

In one embodiment of the invention, the glass or clear plastic platesused to encapsulate the liquid crystal modulation element used as thelight modulating media can also be used as the touch sensitive surface.Instead of incorporating physically distinct touch-sensitive elements,the touch element is integrated into the light modulating elementitself, thereby reducing thickness and cost. The actual mechanism fordoing this varies depending upon the touch technology desired, andexamples are set forth below.

In the case of resistive touch, the outer polarizing films over thelight modulator unit 32 are coated with indium tin oxide (“ITO”) andthen an additional clear film treated with ITO is overlaid with a smallgap, thereby creating a typical two-film resistive touchscreen.

In the case of capacitive touch, the outer film or glass of the lightmodulator unit 32 has an ITO pattern applied that allows the projectionof the capacitive sensing touch field.

In the case of infrared touch, the outer film or glass of the lightmodulator unit 32 is edge-lit by modulated infrared light sources andsurrounded by detectors, such that direct contact with the film or glassdisrupts the total internal reflection of the infrared (“IR”) signalthereby creates a measurable touch signature.

In an alternative embodiment of the device 25, a signal relaying theorientation and physical configuration of the device 25 is relayed tothe operating system, such that the host OS on the device 25automatically reconfigures the device 25 between the two modes ofoperation. The signal relaying orientation and physical configuration isderived from any number of cues, including but not limited toaccelerometer readings, physical switch readings, and magnetic hallswitch readings.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 13A, the device 25 is preferably smaller inarea than an IPAD™ device from Apple, Inc., and slightly larger than aKINDLE™ device from Amazon, Inc. Further, the device 25 is preferablythicker than the IPAD™ device from Apple, Inc., and the secondgeneration KINDLE™ device from Amazon, Inc., but slightly thinner than afirst generation KINDLE™ device from Amazon, Inc.

As shown in FIG. 14, a user uses a finger to touch the inner screendisplay 31 of the touchscreen unit 27 to type out a word, JOE, that isdisplayed on the main unit display 33 of the main unit 26.

From the foregoing it is believed that those skilled in the pertinentart will recognize the meritorious advancement of this invention andwill readily understand that while the present invention has beendescribed in association with a preferred embodiment thereof, and otherembodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, numerous changesmodification and substitutions of equivalents may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of this invention which isintended to be unlimited by the foregoing except as may appear in thefollowing appended claim. Therefore, the embodiments of the invention inwhich an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined in thefollowing appended claims.

I claim as my invention the following:
 1. A display screen unitcomprising: a first touchscreen component layer disposed on a first sideof the display screen unit, the first touchscreen component layeradapted to allow display of a first displayable keyboard embedded withinthe first touchscreen component layer when the display screen unit ispositioned in a first orientation relative to a display device, whereinwhen in the first orientation, the first touchscreen component layer islocated directly over a display area of the display device; a secondtouchscreen component layer disposed on a second side of the displayscreen unit, the second side being opposite to the first side, and thesecond touchscreen component layer adapted to provide display of asecond displayable keyboard embedded within the second touchscreencomponent layer when the display screen unit is positioned in a secondorientation relative to the display device, wherein when in the secondorientation, the second touchscreen component layer is not locateddirectly over the display area of the display device; and a lightmodulator unit disposed between the first touchscreen component layerand the second touchscreen component layer, the light modulator unitadapted to cause the first displayable keyboard to be displayed bycausing opacity in portions of the first touchscreen component layer andto cause the second displayable keyboard to be displayed by causingopacity in portions of the second touchscreen component layer.
 2. Thedisplay screen unit of claim 1, wherein the first touchscreen componentlayer includes a first transparent touchscreen and the secondtouchscreen component layer includes a second transparent touchscreen,and wherein the first transparent touchscreen of the first touchscreencomponent layer is modulated to provide display of the first displayablekeyboard from the first touchscreen component layer when the displayscreen unit is positioned in the first orientation relative to thedisplay device.
 3. The display screen unit of claim 1, wherein thedisplay screen unit is placed in direct contact with the display devicewhen the display screen unit is positioned in the first orientationrelative to the display device, wherein the first side of the firsttouchscreen component layer is located directly over an active portionof the display area of the display device when the display screen unitis positioned in the first orientation relative to the display device.4. The display screen unit of claim 3, the display screen unit furtheradapted to provide information to the display device to determinewhether the display screen unit is positioned in the first orientationrelative to the display device or the second orientation relative to thedisplay device.
 5. The display screen unit of claim 4, the displayscreen unit further adapted to display, in response to the displaydevice determining that the display screen unit is positioned in thesecond orientation, the second displayable keyboard on the secondtouchscreen component layer.
 6. The display screen unit of claim 1, thefirst touchscreen component layer further adapted to display the firstdisplayable keyboard in response to a user input.
 7. A devicecomprising: a display device, the display device including atouchscreen; and a display screen unit, the display screen unitpositionable to a first orientation when coupled to the display device,the display screen unit including: a first touchscreen component layerdisposed on a first side of the display screen unit, the firsttouchscreen component layer adapted to allow display of a firstdisplayable keyboard embedded within the first touchscreen componentlayer when the display screen unit is in the first orientation, whereinwhen in the first orientation, an entirety of a display portion of thefirst touchscreen component layer is located directly over thetouchscreen of the display device, wherein the first touchscreencomponent layer is adapted to allow display of a second displayablekeyboard embedded within the first touchscreen component layer when thedisplay screen unit is positioned in a second orientation; and a lightmodulator unit configured to cause the first displayable keyboard to bedisplayed by causing opacity in portions of the first touchscreencomponent layer and cause the second displayable keyboard to bedisplayed by causing opacity in other portions of the first touchscreencomponent layer.
 8. The device of claim 7, wherein the first touchscreencomponent layer includes a transparent touchscreen, and wherein thetransparent touchscreen of the first touchscreen component layer ismodulated to provide display of the first displayable keyboard from thefirst touchscreen component layer when the display screen unit ispositioned in the first orientation.
 9. The device of claim 7, whereinthe display screen unit is in direct contact with the display devicewhen the display screen unit is positioned in the first orientation,wherein the first side of the first touchscreen component layer islocated directly over an active portion of the touchscreen of thedisplay device when the display screen unit is positioned in the firstorientation.
 10. The device of claim 9, the display screen unit furtheradapted to communicate information to the display device, theinformation used to determine whether the display screen unit ispositioned in the first orientation or the second orientation, whereinthe entirety of a display portion of the first touchscreen componentlayer is not located directly over the touchscreen of the display devicein the second orientation.
 11. The device of claim 10, the displayscreen unit further adapted to display the second displayable keyboardin response to receiving a command from the display device, and thedisplay device further adapted to transmit the command to the displayscreen unit in response to determining that the display screen unit isin the second orientation.
 12. The device of claim 7, the firsttouchscreen component layer further adapted to display the firstdisplayable keyboard or the second displayable keyboard in response to auser input.
 13. An apparatus comprising: means for displaying a firstembedded displayable keyboard on a first side of the apparatus when theapparatus is positioned in a first orientation relative to a displaydevice, wherein when in the first orientation, the apparatus is locateddirectly over a display area of the display device; and means fordisplaying a second embedded displayable keyboard on a second side ofthe apparatus when the apparatus is positioned in a second orientationrelative to the display device, wherein the second side is opposite thefirst side, and wherein when in the second orientation, the apparatus isnot located directly over the display area of the display device; meansfor causing the first embedded displayable keyboard to be displayed bycausing opacity in portions of a first touchscreen component layer onthe first side of the apparatus using a light modulator unit; and meansfor causing the second embedded displayable keyboard to be displayed bycausing opacity in portions of a second touchscreen component layer onthe second side of the apparatus using the light modulator unit.
 14. Theapparatus of claim 13, wherein the means for causing the first embeddeddisplayable keyboard to be displayed modulates light across atransparent touchscreen on the first side of the apparatus to cause aportion of the transparent touchscreen to provide display of the firstembedded displayable keyboard when the apparatus is positioned in thefirst orientation relative to the display device.
 15. The apparatus ofclaim 13, wherein the means for causing the second embedded displayablekeyboard to be displayed modulates light across a transparenttouchscreen on the second side of the apparatus to cause a portion ofthe transparent touchscreen to provide display of the second embeddeddisplayable keyboard when the apparatus is positioned in the secondorientation relative to the display device.
 16. The apparatus of claim15, wherein the apparatus is in direct contact with the display devicewhen the first side of the apparatus is positioned in the firstorientation relative to the display device, wherein the transparenttouchscreen is located directly over an active portion of the displayarea of the display device when the apparatus is in the firstorientation relative to the display device.
 17. The apparatus of claim16, further comprising, means for displaying the second embeddeddisplayable keyboard on the apparatus in response to determining thatthe apparatus is positioned in the second orientation.
 18. The apparatusof claim 13, further comprising, means for receiving a user input tocontrol displaying of the first embedded displayable keyboard or thesecond embedded displayable keyboard.